Community demands answers after teen Tasered by RCMP in Norway House, Man. - Action News
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Manitoba

Community demands answers after teen Tasered by RCMP in Norway House, Man.

The community of a teenage boy who isnon-verbal and disabled is seeking answers after he was Tasered by police and put in custody in Norway House, Man.

RCMP says no use of force other than deployment of stun gun in incident involving 16-year-old

People standing in front of a building, holding signs.
About 100 people from the communityshowed up to a protest outside Norway House RCMP headquarters on Sunday,demanding justice for a boy Tasered by police. (Submitted by Bruce Folster)

The community of a teenage boy who isnon-verbal and disabled is seeking answers after he was Tasered by police and put in custody in Norway House, Man.

About 100people showed up to a protest outside the Norway House RCMPdetachment on Sunday,demanding justice for the boy. The rally was livestreamed on Facebook.

The RCMP said in a Sunday news release that officersresponded to an emergency call about a violent assault of a pre-teen girlat a residence in the Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation shortly after midnight on Friday.

Police said officers were told a 16-year-old boyhad a knife and was threatening to stab the girl and any officers who responded.

The boy was foundoutside the residence and toldto show his hands but refused police commands andthen pulled outa large knife, according to the RCMP release.

People holding signs
People in the community say they're planning further protests. (Submitted by Heather Anderson)

Officers used a stun gun onthe boy, which caused him to drop theknife, RCMP said.

But people who say they were with theboy at the timesay he had no knife at all, that there was no assaultand that the pre-teen girlwas his sister.

Krystal Munroe, 22, said she ended up inpolice custody for 12 hours, in a cell near where the boywas locked up, after the incident.

"Someone called the cops, and I guess some of the cops just barged in the house without knocking or anything," she said in a phone interview with CBC News.

Munroe said police went afterher first, then the boy, and then fired the stungun on him.

A knife parallel to measuring tape.
RCMP say this knife was seized during the incident. (Manitoba RCMP)

"I guess they [Tasered] him because of how he was walking and they thought he was drunk because how he walked. He didn't have his walker," she said.

"Iwas in a different [cell]and he was in the cell all night for 12 hours, I think, and he was crying. I heard him crying, calling out for his dad all night."

Relatives of the boy told CBC there was a party at the residence that night and that's probably why police were called.

The RCMP said in an email thatofficers encountered two intoxicated individuals who were arrested "to ensure everyone's safety and to prevent the continuation of the offence."

They said they wouldn't confirm the girl's relationship with the boy in order to protect her identity, but that they'reknown to each other.

The girl did not require any medical attention, police said.

People on a parking lot holding signs.
Jonathan Meikle said that as First Nations people, his community is often sitting at a 'bubbling point.' (Submitted by Heather Anderson)

Family memberssaid police tackled the boy to the floor, using the stun gun onhim and roughing him up. Photos provided to CBC Newsshow some bruising on the boy'swrists, and marks on his chest and legs that family members sayare from the Taser.

The RCMP said in an emailthere was no other use of force than the stungun.

"Officers recognized that the suspect had mobility issues and he was escorted and safely placed in the back of a police vehicle," the release said. "He was then transported to the detachment without incident."

People at the protest said police usedexcessive force. There was drumming, songs and chanting as they walked toward the detachment.

"He has no voice. We have to help him fight," Heather Anderson said in a phone interview with CBC. "They're just tackling anybody, just because they thought he was drunk, assumed that he was drunk."

'This has been going on for far too long'

Kelvin McKay, who also spoke by phone to CBC, said the community has a rough relationship with police, and that "this kind of stuff happens on an every-week basis."

"He only knows the words yes and no and maybe a few other words," McKay said about the boy. "We just want the story to be told the right way. [He] did not deserve what [happened]."

Jonathan Meikle said the community is often sitting at a "bubbling point" when it comes to itsrelationship with police.

People holding signs, walking on a road. There are also some cars parked.
There was drumming, songs and chanting in the rally as people walked toward the detachment. (Submitted by Heather Anderson)

"When these things occur, these more prominent injustices happen.We see that community mobilization," he said in a phone call.

"We have a lot of systemic issues as a result of historical trauma and systemic oppression, discriminatory policies. Community members are verbalizing that thishas been going on for far too long."

The RCMPsaid in an emailno charges have been laid at this time.

Members of the family said they will be seeking legal council.

McKay said the community is planning more protests.

With files from Gavin Axelrod